Todd Fiscal Court voted to keep property tax rates the same at its final meeting of August and approved COVID pay benefits for employees without requiring a vaccine to be eligible.
Magistrates unanimously voted to keep the rate on real property where it’s been the last several years—at 9.9 cents per $100 of assessed value.
There was considerable discussion on how to approach pay for employees who become ill with COVID or who are quarantined or need to care for a loved one with the virus.
County Attorney Jeff Traughber presented three options—one allowing a full-time employee to be eligible for up to 80 hours in all of those scenarios with no mention of vaccine status, another requiring the employee to have been vaccinated to receive the additional COVID pay and a third option that would allow the employee to be paid if they’re caring for a loved one regardless of status, but requiring the vaccine to be paid if the employee becomes ill.
None of the ordinances would affect employees’ ability to use regular sick pay for COVID or any other illness and none were in any way a vaccine mandate.
Magistrate Brent Spurlin favored the pre-requisite of being vaccinated to qualify for the extra pay if the employee becomes ill, saying they should have a responsibility to do what they can to reduce the chance they become infected.
The ordinance with no mention of any pre-requisite of the vaccine tied on a 2-2 vote among magistrates who were present and Judge-Executive Todd Mansfield cast the tie-breaker vote in favor.
Magistrates Spurlin and John Camp voted against the ordinance and Squire Billy Bryant was absent.
In other action, County Clerk Cindy O’Bryan is accepting bids on the cost of new voting machines and is exploring the possibility of making all current precincts universal voting locations where anyone from any part of the county could vote.
That would mean someone who lives in Trenton could vote in Elkton if it was more convenient or someone who lives in Clifty could vote in Guthrie if that’s where they worked. The new machines would also move Todd County to an all paper-ballot system.